


The Skalensky Swoop

by Originalpuck



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, Past Cho/Marietta, Past Relationship(s), Quidditch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-25
Updated: 2016-02-25
Packaged: 2018-05-23 03:42:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6103678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Originalpuck/pseuds/Originalpuck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cho might have stopped Ginny's broom from plummeting towards the ground, but that doesn't make them friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Skalensky Swoop

**Author's Note:**

> I fudged the timeline a bit. Written for the "Rivals to Lovers" square of [my femtropebingo card](http://zombieannamilton.tumblr.com/post/138497945353/my-femtropebingo-card-so-excited-its-one-of-my).

There was no way in hell that Ginny was going to let Ravenclaw beat Gryffindor this game. Cho might have been older than her, and therefore have more experience playing with her team, but that meant nothing when it came to skill. 

It was their first game where their houses had played against one another, and Ginny was ready to go all out. She knew Cho from her brief time in Dumbledore's Army, and how Cho had supported her friend that had ratted them all out. 

Loyalty was one thing, but messing with the only organization working to take down the Dark Lord was another. And then there was Harry's broken heart, which bothered Ginny because nobody hurts her brothers, and Harry was an honorary brother, after all. And so maybe, just maybe, Ginny was playing extra aggressive whenever she got near Cho on the pitch. 

Which might have left them both with bruises and cuts, but in the end of the game, Gryffindor won, and that was all Ginny cared about right then. She turned to give a vicious smile to Cho, but the other girl had already turned away, landing down with her team and carefully ignoring the cheering from the Gryffindors. Ginny let it go, and instead went back to cheering with her team.

\--–

As long as Ginny ignored her Potions essay until the last minute, she would have plenty of time to get some extra practice on the Quidditch pitch. She had spoken to Harry, who was busy studying thanks to Hermione, and he'd given her his key to the locker room and balls.

It was harder to practice on her own, but she could try out some new flying moves, at the very least. She wanted to stay ahead, and to just be able to enjoy the thrill of flying and letting the moves flow from her to the broom to the players and scores. 

Unfortunately, by the time she got down there, someone was already flying. And they weren't Gryffindors, or else Harry wouldn't have still had his key. She squinted up in the air as she ducked into the locker room and changed, grabbing her own broom. Whoever it was would just have to share, than.

Once she grabbed a Quaffle and hit the sky, however, Ginny realized that going out was a mistake. Cho was out there, and she definitely wasn't someone Ginny wanted scoping out her moves. She'd already had a chance to scope out their protection spells in the DA, and she wasn't going to let her use her and her friends anymore. 

Except that Ginny really did want to try the new move that Fred had owled her about. So she would just try her bloody hardest to pretend that Cho wasn't there. She swooped up high, spun, and dove straight towards the ground. She tried to pull up at the last second, but her broom, old as it was, couldn't handle it. And since it was Ginny's first try, she couldn't stop it. 

She was plummeting towards the ground when she heard a large cry, and a spell being shouted down. Ginny's broom shuddered to a stop a few meters from the ground, and she allowed herself to drop off of it, and stare up, her heart pounding so hard she was sure it was going to fly out of her chest. 

She saw Cho come down to the ground as fast, but as safely, as she could, and then she hopped off next to Ginny. “Are you okay?” 

“I can't get hurt that easy,” she lied. “I knew what I was doing.” 

“It didn't look like it,” Cho said.

“Well, why were you watching me, when you have your own bloody moves to be working on?” Ginny snapped. She was embarrassed, she could admit that much. She had been in danger, and if Cho hadn't noticed, she might have ended up visiting Madame Pomfry, after lying pathetically on the ground for a few hours.

Cho glared, and then turned around. “I thought I was helping. It's not like I was stealing your moves. I'm a seeker, and you're not. Why would I care about the Skalensky Swoop that you were trying? Next time I won't bother.” 

Ginny's ears perked up when she heard Cho say the proper name for Ginny's aborted move. “How did you hear about it?” 

“Hear about what?” 

“About the move?” Ginny said. “It's still new.”

“The chaser for the Tutshill Tornados invented it,” Cho said. “Of course I know all about it. They're my team.” A small gleam shown in her eyes, a smile dancing across her face. “My mother owled me all about the game that I missed, and described the whole thing in such detail that The Daily Prophet didn't even do it justice.” 

“Fred did the same thing,” Ginny said. “Though he did it because he thought I'd like the move, not because I care about the Tornados. You should know that. Harry must have mentioned how much better the Cannons are.” 

Cho's scowl was fierce. “The Tornados are much better than the Cannons! You should know that, if you're trying some of _the Tornados player's moves_.” She walked away after that, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she walked.

Ginny stood there, glaring as Cho left. Just because she wanted to take a move from them didn't make them a better team. She glared at Cho, and then down at the broom that was sitting on the grass next to her. She should leave, too. Instead, Ginny stayed to work on some of her other moves. 

She purposefully ignored the part of her that wanted to hunt down Cho and ask her to spot her while she tried the move again. She was just fine practicing on her own.

\--–

They both ended up on the pitch for individual practice less than a week later. This time she was on the pitch first, before Cho came. She kept an eye on her, and tried the Skalensky Swoop, managing to maneuver the broom just right, so she came up a few meters above Cho. “Figured it out,” Ginny told her.

“Good for you,” Cho said. “I'm just here to relax, so if you could leave me alone, that'd be great.”

She tried to look away, but Ginny flew alongside her. “You were crying,” she said. Cho's face was still splotchy, and it wasn't dark enough for Ginny not to notice, even though she was flying above her.

Hatred or not, Ginny landed. She didn't feel the same sense of satisfaction at seeing Cho having cried as she thought she would have. “What's wrong?” 

“We're not friends. We're not even close,” Cho said. “I don't really feel like sharing.” 

“Fine,” Ginny snapped. She flew up, and away, and then hesitated. She watched Cho mount her broom, and go through some regular warm-ups, before she made up her mind. She flew over to where Cho was, and grinned. “Let's race. First through the largest hoop on the other side of the pitch wins.” 

Cho stared at her blankly for a few seconds, before nodding her head. Ginny figured she might agree. Flying fast and flying hard always helped Ginny to relax. 

It was three races later when Cho was smiling again. “Marietta decided not to spend time with me anymore,” Cho said, out of the blue. 

Ginny frowned. “But you left Dumbledore's Army for her!”

“We were more than friends,” Cho said. Ginny almost didn't hear her, her voice nearly snatched away in the wind. “But she's found someone new, and now she doesn't even want to be friends.” 

“I'm sorry,” Ginny said, and found that she meant it. She knew how awkward that sort of break-up was. 

“You're not weirded out?” Cho asked. She sounded fearful. She wondered how many people even knew Cho and Marietta were dating.

“I like guys and girls, Cho,” Ginny said. She rolled her eyes. “I thought everyone knew that.” 

“I didn't.” Cho looked at her, and then shook her head. Her broom bobbed a bit with her movements. “Thank you for distracting me.” 

“Anytime,” Ginny said. “Just send an owl.”

–--

Ginny was really pleased with the notes she'd been getting from Cho, which had started with asking her to meet her to race, and then ended up being longer, more personal. It had gotten to the point where Ginny was pretty sure that they'd started flirting. And that gave their next private races, a week after Gryffindor beat Slytherin, a different feeling.

It was hard for Ginny to focus on her classes, imagining Cho on the pitch and smiling at her. She was glad once they were out, even though she doubted she would remember a thing. At least she could ask Luna for notes in some of her important classes. 

She practically ripped the key from Harry's hand and ran down to the pitch, but Cho was still there first. She must have skipped dinner, or at least had a light one. Ginny's grin grew as she watched Cho's hair fly in the wind behind her. She was beautiful and so graceful in the air. Ginny wanted to rough her up, and so she called down to Cho, and when she looked down, Ginny hoped Cho's seeker's eyes would see Ginny pointing with her full arm towards the lockers. 

Ginny ducked in, and then waited just outside them, on the Pitch's side. Cho landed and was walking over to her, opening her mouth to say something, when Ginny cut her off with a kiss. She'd sprinted the short distance between them and was kissing her with everything she had. 

Her fingers wound through Cho's hair, and she ended the kiss by sucking hard on Cho's lower lip. “How about we check out the locker rooms?” Ginny asked. 

Cho didn't even hesitate to grab Ginny's hand and drag her into the locker rooms. “Anytime,” Cho said, a large grin on her face. “With you, I'm open to doing this anytime.” And then they weren't speaking anymore, because their lips had much better things to do.


End file.
